We're on the cusp of an era where technological advances could allow Paralympians with souped-up joints and carefully engineered limbs to easily blow past the merely human Olympians - and help ordinary amputees to live extraordinarily normal lives.

A Russian court is expected to issue a verdict Friday in the trial of three of the seven members of Pussy Riot, a feminist punk band, who face up to three years in prison for participating in an uninvited protest performance, in Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, against President Vladimir Putin's ties with the Orthodox Church.

It is difficult to reconcile the accusations that TomKat was merely a contractual agreement with the way the split has played out so far -- with Cruise convincingly playing the role of the jilted husband and Holmes the long-suffering wife who can't get away from him fast enough. On the other hand, the hasty settlement is more suggestive of a premeditated ending than a knock-down, drag-out fight would have been.

With highly publicized divorce from Katie Holmes dominating headlines, Tom Cruise is celebrating his 50th birthday on Tuesday. According to People, Cruise had plans to vacation with his 33-year-old wife Holmes and six-year-old daughter Suri for his milestone birthday.

For the first time in over a decade, Iceland's longtime incumbent of 15 years President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has a viable candidate facing him for reelection this Saturday - a former television reporter who recently gave birth to a baby girl.

Millions of years ago, the ice-covered Antarctica was much warmer and wetter than it is today, claimed a recent study. The climate along the edges of the frozen continent was even suitable to support substantial vegetation including stunted trees.